19Th Century by Jon Dotson, Old World Auctions

The Mapmakers Who Made the 19th Century by Jon Dotson, Old World Auctions We continue our series of notable mapmakers with a glimpse into the 19th century. While the process of mapmaking was essentially unchanged in the first three centuries of our series, the 19th century represented a period of great change both in terms of paper and printing technique. Early in the century, machine wove paper (as opposed to hand laid) became the standard with the invention of a machine that produced paper on a continuous roll. In the 1840s, as demand for paper outpaced supply, cheaper wood pulp would replace cotton rag. At the same time, expensive copper plates that were the staple at the turn of the century were replaced over time by cheaper methods of production including steel plates, lithography and cerography (wax engraving). The combined effect of these innovations meant lower barriers to entry and a marked increase in the number of participants in cartography (a term coined in the 19th century). Given the large pool of influential and prolific mapmakers in the 19th century, we decided to highlight a representative sample that we frequently encounter at Old World Auctions. United States Government Over the course of the 19th century, the United States government was the most prolific map publisher in the world. Based upon the Old World Auctions archive of map records, greater than 1 in 8 maps from the 19th century were issued by a U.S. agency. The vast majority of these maps were provided as exhibits or appendices that accompanied reports to the U.S. Congress and usually appear issued folding on thin wood pulp paper. Some of the more frequent map issuers include the Government Printing Office, War Department, Coast Survey, Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Indian Affairs, State Surveys, and the Geological Survey. Generally speaking, the maps found in Congressional reports were utilitarian in nature, and illustrated the issues and growing pains of a new nation including boundary disputes, internal improvements, frontier defenses, and more. These maps revealed important secondary information as well such as roads, canals, railroads, place names, watersheds, and more. The maps were usually the best source of current information and frequently utilized by commercial cartographers for their own publications. The nature of the maps found in these congressional reports shifted during the century with much of the first half focused on the reconnaissance of the western United States. Government-backed exploration from this early period include Lewis & Clark and Zebulon Pike. Later explorers whose maps appeared in congressional reports include John Fremont, James Kearney, and Gouverneur Warren, who produced the first map to accurately represent the entire trans-Mississippi west. During the 1850s, the U.S. government sponsored an extensive series of expeditions to gather information on the vast new territories that had been acquired in western North America. The discovery of gold in California further stimulated westward traffic and heightened the need for a faster and more convenient way to bring the far-flung parts of the country together. These reports, maps and lithographs were published in a mammoth thirteen-volume series entitled "Explorations and Surveys to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a Railroad from the Mississippi river to the Pacific Ocean." Maps of the latter half of the 19th century shifted away from exploration to the less glamorous (but absolutely necessary) work of surveying. The General Land Office (GLO) was responsible for implementing the Public Land Survey System, which subdivided the entire west into square mile blocks for purchase and sale. Other notable surveying work included the efforts of Clarence King, Ferdinand Hayden, John Wesley Powell, and George Wheeler to map the west. This led to the establishment of the U.S. Geological Survey in 1879, which was charged with the "classification of the public lands, and examination of the geological structure, mineral resources, and products of the national domain." Map of the Territory of the United States from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean... (1857) Known as "Warren's General Map," this monumentally important map is considered to be the first accurate overall picture of the region and culminated a half-century of government explorations. Only 24 years old when assigned the task, Warren used information from the U.S. Land Office, the Coast Survey, Topographical Engineers, the Adjutant General, the Quartermaster General, the Indian Bureau, and Smithsonian Institution to obtain the latest information in developing this map. (Image Courtesy of the David Rumsey Map Collection) State of Oregon (1879) This GLO map features excellent detail from the Cascade Mountains west to the Pacific coast and notes towns and villages, roads, railroads, and topography shown in bold hachure. Regions to the east of the Cascades have only been partially surveyed with large tracts of empty space. The legend identifies Indian reservations, military reservations, railroad limits, land grants, and townships subdivided. Aaron Arrowsmith (1750-1823) Aaron Arrowsmith was born in Durham, England on July 14th, 1750. Despite a rather humble upbringing with a limited education, he became one of the best cartographers of his generation. Arrowsmith largely taught himself the principles of cartography and moved to London around 1770 to begin his career. He apprenticed under the William Faden Jr. firm for a time, and later joined John Cary's firm as a land surveyor. His first signed work was a survey of the road from London to Falmouth in 1782, which was subsequently published by Cary in 1784. In 1790, Arrowsmith decided to set out on his own, opening a shop at Castle Street. In that same year, he published his first wall map entitled Chart of the World on Mercator's Projection and quickly established himself as one of the most prominent mapmakers in London. Over the next 30 years, he would make large wall maps the firm's specialty, publishing important maps of North America, Asia, Africa, as well as several multi-sheet maps of the British Isles. His copper-engraved maps were superior to competitors for their synthesis of information, and reflect his incredible ability to gather up-to- date information from a wide variety of sources. It is important to note that Arrowsmith continuously updated his maps while the majority of his competition recycled outdated information. His map of North America has at least 11 recorded states, and his eastern United States map has 10. Over his career, Arrowsmith is known to have published over 200 maps, mostly large scale, and "was easily the foremost cartographer of his time" (Tooley, p. 24) and "the most influential and respected map publisher of the first quarter of the nineteenth century" (Martin & Martin p. 113). His sphere of influence also crossed the Atlantic where he partnered with Samuel Lewis in 1802 to produce A New and Elegant General Atlas. Aaron Arrowsmith passed away in 1823, though the business continued to operate by his sons Aaron Sr. and Samuel, and his nephew John. A New Map of Mexico and Adjacent Provinces... (1810) This is one of the most important maps of Texas and the Southwest from the early 19th century. Arrowsmith's map was the first to incorporate the discoveries of both Zebulon Montgomery Pike (1810) and Alexander von Humboldt (1811). The California coastline was based on the explorations of Vancouver, whose track is noted in the map, as well as information provided by the Hudson's Bay Company. The Rocky Mountain region and the Gulf Coast draw primarily on Humboldt, while present-day Texas and the Brazos and Guadalupe River regions were based on Pike's accounts. This map is an excellent representation of Arrowsmith's ability to sift through conflicting data between explorers and incorporate the most accurate cartographical information to create the most up- to-date map of the region. Asia (1801) This incredibly detailed, large-format map covers all of Asia from the Ural Mountains and Black Sea to Japan and the Philippines. It is most remarkable for its superb topographical detail considering the remoteness of much of the region. In the Pacific, the routes of the Lion (Lord McCartney's Embassy to China) and the Astrolabe (La Perouse's circumnavigation) are shown off of eastern Asia. The map includes several notations along the Arctic Circle including "here some Dutch Vessels wintered in 1596" (Nova Zembla) and "A spot where a copper kettle was found and some cloven wood." Arrowsmith dedicated the map to James Rennell, who is now considered the "Father of Indian Cartography," and no doubt incorporated Rennell's surveys in the southern sections of this map. John Tallis (1817-1876) While little is known about the Tallis family, the maps produced by John Tallis and his father, John Tallis Sr., and are instantly recognizable and immensely popular among collectors. John Tallis Sr. first set up shop at 15 St. John's Lane in Smithfield (London) in 1835 and the duo's first major publication entitled London Street Views was issued in 1838. These detailed and accurate street plans were both popular and profitable, allowing the Tallis firm to publish other works during the 1840s including Thomas Dygdale's Curiosities of Great Britain and Thomas Wright's The Universal Pronouncing Dictionary. When John Tallis Sr. died in 1842, John Tallis partnered with his brother Frederick, who recently became involved in the map business. In the late 1840s, the pair began publishing maps in subscription form to target a middle-class audience that led insular lives due to the expense and hardship of travel. These steel-engraved maps not only provided up-to-date geographical knowledge, but also used vignette views within the map's design to show the native people and their occupations, cities and points of interest.

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